Mechanical power systems that drive rotating elements, such as vehicles that include drive trains for rotating wheels also typically include braking elements that press against a rotating element of the drive train or system to halt a rotation. The physical contact of brake pads applied against rotating elements often therefore generates particulates that are released proximate to the forcibly decelerated rotating element.
In one exemplary source of pollution, the wide use of brake pads in hundreds of millions of automobiles creates significant contribution to environmental pollution. Brake systems in many other vehicles, including but not limited to motorized boats and airplanes, also produce particulate outflow within inches of a rotating wheel or rotor.
Most braking systems currently in use by a truck, car, train or other heavy equipment employs a composite surface of one or another material applied under pressure to another surface attached to the wheel, either hydraulically, Mechanically, electrically or pneumatically, employed to slow and stop the vehicle. All of these prior art braking systems eject material into the air and onto other mechanical parts and environments, including wheel surfaces, braking parts and the surface the vehicle is traveling on or through, usually referred to as the air or ground.
There is a long-felt need to provide devices and methods to capture the particulates released near rotating objects in order to reduce the contribution of particulates generated in the forced friction braked deceleration of the rotating object.
The present invention provides a method of trapping or collecting and thereby isolating that ejected material in such a way that it is largely removed from the immediate environment by means of centrifugal force, magnetic, electrostatic or chemical attraction, isolating and permitting the recovery of any toxic or recyclable materials. These are all methods of entrapment in a medium comprised of a thin napped, folded or fiber attached by removable adhesive to the inside race of a rim of a wheel, in close proximity to the braking device, so as not to impede proper cooling of the brake mechanism or the wheel. This as opposed to other brake ejective recovery prior art which is primarily attached to a brake mechanism, wheel assembly or interior of a wheel enclosure.
The present invention provides a method for not only preventing brake dust from contaminating wheel surfaces and mechanisms, but also to prevent a significant portion of this material from entering the environment, which for the purposes of discussion includes the water table, air and ground peripheral to the areas where these brake mechanisms are employed.
The present invention offers the users of the afore mentioned vehicles employing certain prior braking systems an easy to use and completely disposable method of reducing the amount of brake dust their systems deposit on other mechanical systems and the environment in such a way as to be recyclable, readily available and cost effective. Other benefits of the present system can be applied by a service agent authorized to work on these vehicles on a frequent basis because the present invention requires no fasteners or mechanical attachments. Additionally, this system is not reliant on the vehicles electrical system or other mechanical systems to operate, meaning it is fully independent of the vehicles mechanical system, requiring no additional assembly or attachment to the braking unit.
The present invention employs a thin film of material in the form of a napped, fold or fiber material that can be adapted and composed to fit the individual braking systems particular composition and configuration making it readily adaptable to any braking system regardless of composition or construction.
The method of the present invention enables the recovery of toxic and recyclable materials and encourages safe recycling and recovery of unwanted environmental contaminants.